12 THE CANNING OF PEAS. 



which there are paddles or beaters. The outer cylinder is made to 

 revolve slowly in one direction and the inner one at a high rate of 

 d in the opposite direction. The vines are fed in at one end of the 

 cylinder and are carried up by the slower-moving outer cylinder 

 until they fall off, and in so doing strike the paddles upon the rap- 

 idly revolving inner cylinder. The impact of the paddle causes the 

 pod to break open and the peas to be thrown out. The proces> is 

 repeated again and again as the vines work from one end of the 

 cylinder to the other. The peas are discharged through the perfora- 

 lions of the outer cylinder and the vines at the opposite end. The 

 work is done thoroughly and the peas are not bruised or crushed by 

 the operation, as might be expected. As a further aid in separating 

 the smaller bits of stems, leaves, etc., the peas fall from the cylinder 

 upon a moving web placed at such an angle that the peas will readily 

 roll down into the receiver, while the flat leaves and other particles 

 which will not roll will be carried off. 



The vining machines are supplied to the different factories upon a 

 royalty basis, the charge being 3 cents per dozen cans for all shelled 

 peas put up at the factory. These machines are large and, as a rule, 

 an- .-et in batteries at the factory instead of being taken to the fields. 

 A few of the very large factories have established vining stations at 

 varying distances from the factory and bring in the shelled pea> by 

 wagon, automobile, or rail. This practice requires rapid handling, as 

 the peas will heat much more quickly after than before being shelled. 

 A large saving in fhe hauling of vines is effected, and the injury to the 

 pea* is probably not greater than would occur in letting the vines wait. 

 These viners were formerly fed by hand, but recently a mechanical 

 feeder has been devised so that the vines are pitched off the load and 

 the machine completes the work. An automatic weighing device has 

 a No been added to take the place of the pea collector and weigher, 

 and conveyors are used to carry all vines to the stack or silos so that 

 the actual hand work is reduced to a minimum. 



Shelled peas which are hauled to the factory must be kept in thin 

 layers rather than in bulk. The best carrier seems to be a box about 

 inches deep having a raised wire bottom made like that of a berry 

 box. The layer of peas is only about 4 inches thick and is well ven- 

 tilated. The boxes or crates, no matter how constructed, must be 

 -terilized with steam and rinsed with scalding water each day or they 

 will become infected with germs which will cause spoilage. 



WASHING. 



The first operation through which the peas pass after being 

 weighed from the viner is that of washing. This is accomplished in 

 what is known as the squirrel c:>ge. which is a wire cylinder about 3 

 feet in diameter and 12 feet long. The cylinder is set on a slight in- 



